Restaurant saves Cardiff wedding couple’s day

A couple whose wedding was cancelled when Storm Darragh battered large parts of Wales got their happy ending after all when a stranger stepped in to help.

Rebecca and George Lance, from Cardiff, were originally due to get married on Saturday, but a power cut at their venue meant their plans fell through.

The couple were staying the night before in an apartment above the Penny Farthing restaurant in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, and its general manager offered to host the wedding reception instead.

“They came down for breakfast when they had found out their original venue couldn’t host and I just felt awful for them,” said Mohammed Elkilay.

Mr Lance said the team “really pulled out the stops” to accommodate them.

The couple were meant to be getting married at Cobbles in Ogmore-by-Sea in Bridgend county at midday, followed by a celebration with more than 50 people.

Many guests had travelled from Bristol and Devon and had stayed the night before.

“I was surprised how calm they were,” Mr Elkilay, 49, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast of the moment he met the couple.

“I was really looking forward to getting involved, to make their day,” he said.

“I said I’d do it,” he said. “I almost insisted that we held it here instead.

“In three minutes we talked through everything,” he added.

He said he had a “wonderful” team ready to help the couple and told them to come at 17:00 GMT for drinks.

The registrar was rescheduled for Sunday and the couple also rearranged the DJ.

He asked about their colour scheme – olive green – and sourced flowers and got tablecloths out.

“I went everywhere. We managed to get some from local shops,” he said. “I didn’t even know their names,” he laughed.

He also arranged pizza from a place next door for the evening.

Mr Elkilay said that although it was devastating at first, it turned into a wonderful day.

“I think most people in my position would have done the same,” he said.

“It looked like they had rehearsed it 100 times when they walked in.

“It looked really good,” he said.

“They surrounded themselves with wonderful people.”

The groom said of the Penny Farthing: “Mo really pulled out the stops. We partied on till about 11pm and basically did our wedding in reverse.”

He also praised Cobbles, and said it “amazingly” managed to go ahead with the wedding ceremony on Sunday after finding a generator.

“The venue moved heaven on earth, with the owner of Cobbles even roasting the dinners at their home and bringing it to us for our wedding breakfast.

“The registrars swapped the days as well to make our big day happen.

“We don’t know what we have done to deserve this kindness.”